


Eastbound I-40

by Psijay



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Canon, Road Trips, reaper76 summer event
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-11-29 05:16:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11433921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psijay/pseuds/Psijay
Summary: A road trip from California to Indiana in Gabe's shitty old truck. With the man he really shouldn't be crushing on. It's possible he didn't think this through all the way.





	1. Prologue: Los Angeles, California

**Author's Note:**

> For the Reaper76 Summer Event over on tumblr! Mostly for the 'Hit the Road, Jack' prompt, but I'm trying to fit all the themes in there, at least in some small way.  
> This is only the prologue; future chapters are longer.  
> Title from the highway they follow for most of the trip.

“So, is exploring your hometown gonna give me any amazing insights into the enigmatic Gabriel Reyes?” Jack asked, one eyebrow cocked.

Gabe scoffed. “As if you didn’t already know everything there is to know,” he grunted. “And, anyway, I doubt it. We only have a few days here; not nearly enough time to dig up anything good.”

“Yeah, and I kind of doubt you spent a lot of time growing up hanging out in tourist traps like this,” Jack pointed out, waving a hand at the Walk of Fame stretching out before them.

Gabe huffed out a laugh, shrugging. “You got me there, but this is the shit everyone wants to see their first time in LA.”

“Which means it’s obviously not the good shit, and you’re holding out on me,” Jack countered, eyes narrowed. “I know you know all the _really_ good places around here, and I want to see them.”

“You have to earn those places. You have to grow up around here, find them for yourself. Prove your worthiness. Don’t you have places like that back in Buttfuck, Indiana?”

Jack sighed. “ _Medora_ , Indiana, which you should probably keep in mind since we’re driving there in a couple days, and, no, not really. Rural Indiana’s an open book. Plus, if there were any, I’d totally take you to them, so you owe me.”

Gabe sputtered. “How do you figure? You just said they don’t exist!”

“It’s the thought that counts,” he insisted. “Now, come on! Take me to your favorite place in LA!”

“You’re impossible. Fine, let’s head back to the car.”

Technically, his favorite place in LA wasn’t in LA, proper, but a little further north on California’s shore. A secluded stretch of beach sat hidden behind a row of shops in LA’s outskirts, where tourists never bothered to visit. Behind the shops was a steep rock cliff, not too high, but daunting enough to discourage even most locals. Gabe led Jack down a narrow path he’d found down a softer incline, to a point where they could easily drop onto the sand below. Getting back up would be trickier, but far from impossible for two super soldiers such as themselves.

“No wonder it’s so empty,” Jack remarked as he landed beside Gabriel, gazing out at the azure ocean ahead. “How’d you find this place?”

“Almost rode my bike over the cliff when I was young,” Gabe explained, smirking at the memory. “Barely managed to brake in time, then I noticed that little path and made my way down.”

Jack abandoned his sandals by the cliff and strode forward, toes curling in the sand. “It’s gorgeous,” he said, a gust of wind ruffling his golden hair. In the harsh sunlight, it looked almost the same color as the sand beneath their feet. He turned back to face Gabriel, grinning mischievously. “Wait a second. You, the broody, loner, edgelord that you are, like to spend time on this bright, sunny beach? Don’t you have an image to keep up?”

Gabe rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide his smile. “What, you expect me to be on all the time? Let me have this, Morrison.” He kicked some sand in Jack’s direction, scattering it up to his knees.

Jack laughed and waded into the gentle waves, letting the ocean rinse off the sand and splashing some water over at Gabriel, soaking most of his shirt.

Gabe recoiled, not quite fast enough to escape the assault. “Oh, and this is how you thank me for taking you to my favorite place?” He pulled the soaked shirt over his head, throwing it back towards the cliff to join Jack’s sandals. “It’s fucking _on_ , jackass.” He sprinted into the ocean with Jack, sending water flying everywhere.

The ensuing water fight lasted nearly twenty minutes and ended with them both sopping wet, clothes dripping saltwater into the sand. Gabe could feel his curls sticking to his forehead, and Jack’s hair, usually perfectly spiked in his trademark style, lay mostly flat, only one or two stubborn cowlicks remaining.

“In retrospect,” Jack began, both of them still wading in the edges of the waves, “this probably wasn’t our best idea.”

Gabe spared him a dry glance before returning to wringing the water out of his beanie. “Really. You think this is worse than signing up to be the military’s human guinea pigs?”

Jack laughed softly. “Fair enough. Still, though; we have to dry off before heading back to your folks’ place. I don’t want to spend four days in a truck that reeks of salt water because of our stupid water fight.”

“‘Our’ water fight? You’re the one who started it. That was _your_ water fight,” Gabe argued.

Jack shoved him playfully, with just enough force to sway him the slightest bit. Gabe shoved back with about the same strength. They kept walking back and forth along the small stretch of beach as the sun began to set, casting the ocean in shades of orange and pink. His eyes slid over to Jack’s, watched how the ocean’s colors reflected in his irises. He’d always thought Jack’s eyes looked like the ocean, and now that he could see them both at once, he knew he was right. He lingered for a couple moments more before forcing the thought from his mind. In just a couple days, they’d be trapped in his shitty old truck on a cross-country road trip; this was no time for these ridiculous feelings.

Jack’s soaked white shirt didn’t make it easy, though.

* * *

 

A few days later, they looked through the plan one last time, the map projecting from Jack’s datapad.

“We’ve got camping reservations in this park for tonight,” Jack said, pointing at a spot near the Arizona, New Mexico border. “That’s about eight hours away with moderate traffic. It’s the most driving we’ll do in one day for this trip. We’re renting the camping equipment from the park, so we won’t have to worry about hauling it around, and compared to what we’re used to from training, it’ll probably feel luxurious.”

Gabriel’s lips quirked in half a smile. A tent and sleeping bags? Might as well feel like a five-star hotel.

“We’ll drive through the entirety of New Mexico tomorrow, probably just stopping for lunch, then we’ve got a motel room near Amarillo, Texas. The day after, we can get most of the way through Oklahoma, stopping for the night near the Missouri border. Then it’s the last day of driving, stopping at the St. Louis Arch, since you've somehow never seen it,” he added, pausing to raise an eyebrow at Gabe. “Then it’s less than five hours to Medora. Am I forgetting anything?”

Gabe shook his head slowly, surveying the map once again. They’d been planning this trip ever since they found out they had two weeks leave for the summer. They’d narrowed down the best route from Los Angeles to Jack’s backwoods hometown outside of Bloomington, Indiana, reserved motel rooms along the way, and even arranged a couple of sightseeing spots. Gabe’s old truck was packed with what little they needed, and after a few days staying with Gabriel’s family, they were ready to get on the road.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit excited. He and Jack had practically been attached at the hip ever since they started in the SEP almost a year ago. To them, it was all but a given that they’d spend whatever leave they got together. The unfortunate case of feelings Gabe may or may not have caught somewhere along the way didn’t help much, though. Even if Jack probably would never think of him that way, at least they could spend time together as friends. That would have to be enough.

“You ready to head out?” Gabe asked, snapping himself out of his introspection.

“Good to go,” Jack said, with that stupid, genuine smile that made it hard for Gabriel to breathe. He clicked off the datapad and stuck it back in his duffel bag, which he slung over his shoulder. “If you wanna go say goodbye to your folks, I can make sure we’ve got everything in the car.”

“Thanks, Jack,” he said with a smile of his own.

As Jack rushed off, Gabriel sighed deeply.

This was gonna be a long trip.


	2. Chapter One: Arizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving California for Arizona, and camping out for the night.

Growing up on a farm, Jack learned how to drive a wide variety of vehicles at an early age. He’d first been allowed to drive a tractor around the family farm on his own before the age of 11, and got behind the wheel of a car for the first time when he was just 13. Driving was a second nature to him, so he’d offered to do the majority of the driving on their trip. Gabe would have to take over every now and again so Jack didn’t nod off, but Jack would take first shift every day. It was the least he could do, he thought, since Gabe had offered the use of his truck. Never let it be said that Gabriel didn’t know how to negotiate, though, because, in exchange, he’d demanded full control over the radio.

“My radio, my music,” he reasoned as he plugged in his phone and started up a playlist.

Jack didn’t know the name of the song, but he recognized it as a hit from the ‘20’s. Gabe tapped his foot along to the beat, and sang along under his breath, more of a murmur than anything. Jack remained silent, focusing on the road ahead. Things stayed much the same as they crossed California, with short snippets of idle conversation thrown in here and there. Everything changed shortly after they crossed the border into Arizona, however.

Jack resettled himself in his seat, stretching until his spine popped and tossing his head back and forth to get the kink out of his neck. He barely noticed as a classic rock song from last century ended, but as soon as the next song started, he snapped to attention. A few soft piano notes rang out, and he and Gabriel exchanged a glance.

_ “‘When I was, a young boy, my father, took me into the city, to see a marching band…’” _

By the middle of the song, they had the radio cranked up, and were hollering along at the top of their lungs. Of the many things they’d bonded over, the strongest had to be their shared loved for the music of the early 2000’s. From that point on, they kept the music loud, and they both sang along with everything they knew. Jack tried his best to ignore how his heart sped up when he took a moment to just listen to Gabriel sing. Gabe didn’t have the best singing voice— though he wasn’t bad by any means— but he had passion, and seemed to put his all into every word. Jack could watch him get lost in the music all day, but that would be a very bad idea. Fostering those feelings could only end in heartbreak.

They stopped for lunch at a shitty diner in some tiny town outside Flagstaff, happy to have some time to stretch their legs. For a couple minutes they just stood by the truck, staring out at the desert ahead of them.

“Arizona’s prettier than I expected,” Jack remarked, eyes wandering over the mountains in the distance.

“Not bad,” Gabe agreed, leaning back against the rusty truck with a small smile, arms crossed.

Jack’s gaze returned to the hills, dotted in greenery and stretching out as far as he could see in every direction. The road behind them was all but empty, the occasional semi-truck passing by, stirring up dust that swirled in the wake of the pulse engines. The dry heat of the air tickled his lungs with every breath, and the glaring midday sun had beads of sweat breaking out across his forehead. At least it wasn’t humid, Jack thought, remembering awful, sweaty days on the farm after the storms rolled through.

Lunch passed by uneventfully, subpar burgers and a couple glasses of pop.

“‘Soda’,” Gabriel corrected him. “We’re not in the midwest, Indiana. Try to keep up.”

Jack leveled him with the most intense glare he could muster. “You’ll pry ‘pop’ from my cold dead hands.”

Gabe leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “That can be arranged.”

The stalemate went on silently until the waitress set the glasses down in front of them a few moments later.

“Here you are, two sodas,” she said, flipping open a notepad. “You boys ready to order?”

Gabe quirked an eyebrow, and Jack frowned, quietly accepting defeat.

Not long later, they were back on the road. Gabe took the wheel, letting Jack relax in the passenger seat and watch the world go by. Gabe’s truck, while old, still rode pretty well. The hover conversion took care of any suspension problems, and the two-seater cab had just enough space for two super soldiers. Five days in this thing shouldn’t be too bad, he decided. The landscape outside the window flashed by almost too quickly to make out any details, but he could still see the sun as it crept slowly towards the mountains on the horizon. He checked their progress on the datapad.

“We’re making good time,” he noted. “If we keep up this pace, we should make it to the campground before sundown.” He glanced up, surprised to see Gabe’s dark eyes trained on him, expression unreadable. “Shouldn’t you be…” He motioned to the windshield.

“Right, right,” Gabe muttered, turning back to the road.

It could’ve been a trick of the light, but Jack could swear he saw the tips of Gabe’s ears go a bit red.

* * *

 

The spot they’d reserved sat in the Petrified Forest National Park, not too far from the park entrance. While the park didn’t have any real campgrounds, hikers could camp anywhere in the wilderness area. They grabbed the gear they’d rented from a nearby shop, and hiked a short distance into the park, to a camping spot with a fire ring.

“I’ll set up the tent. You wanna gather up some kindling for the fire? Deserts get pretty cold at night,” Gabe advised, setting down the gear.

“I’m on it,” Jack said. An excuse to explore this beautiful park? Gabe wouldn’t have to ask him twice.

The banded mountains seemed to glow in the setting sun, enhancing their natural reds and tans. The light sparkled off the crystallic structures of the petrified wood all around, turning them opalescent. Jack snapped a few photos on his phone in between gathering up scraps of wood and dried grasses for the fire.

“I couldn’t find that much,” Jack said as dumped the kindling into the fire ring, “but we’ve managed with less.”

Gabe nodded and lit a match. It only took a few attempts to ignite the dried out kindling, and with careful nurturing, they soon had a decent fire going. After another patrol for more kindling, they’d gathered enough to keep it burning for a while. Jack grabbed his duffel bag and rooted through it; he knew he’d stashed them somewhere in here.

Gabe sat down beside him, peering curiously at the bag. “What’re you looking for?” he asked.

Jack pulled a bag of marshmallows from the bottom of the bag and handed them to Gabriel. “I’ve got a couple skewers in here, too.”

“You are a goddamn genius,” Gabe said, grinning as he ripped open the bag. “A true American hero.” He popped a marshmallow into his mouth and closed his eyes. The noise he let out just fell short of a pornographic moan.

“Someone has to account for your sweet tooth,” Jack teased. He finally extracted the skewers, and handed one to Gabe, who skewered one marshmallow and tossed another to Jack, who caught it easily.

A couple marshmallows ended up getting sacrificed to the fire before they managed to toast some correctly. Jack finished his first, and waited about three seconds before taking a giant bite out of it. It melted in his mouth… and all over his lips, and his chin, and somehow even the tip of his nose, sticky and bordering on scalding hot. He let out an annoyed grunt, the marshmallow blocking any more eloquent sounds.

Beside him, Gabe burst out laughing. “Oh, my god, Jack.” He curled in on himself, almost dropping another marshmallow into the fire, practically wheezing. “That’s… that’s a good look for you,” he choked out, breathless. “You, ah, you got a little something on your nose, though.”

“Ffuhck ohff,” Jack growled through the remaining marshmallow. He swallowed hard, and started trying to lick the rest of the mess from his lips.

Gabe’s manic giggling started to calm down as Jack cleaned his face. “I could’ve made a really awful joke just then, y’know,” he said.

“I admire your restraint,” Jack deadpanned.

“You missed a spot.” He reached over, dabbed away the sticky residue on the tip of Jack’s nose. “And you’re welcome.

Jack’s face flushed. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

Gabe only smiled before taking a bite of his own marshmallow. His didn’t explode all over his face, but he still managed to get some in his goatee.

“Hah!” Jack crowed. “See? It happens to the best of us.”

Gabe scoffed, with the slightest smirk. “Yeah, whatever.” He scrubbed at his chin, getting rid of the sugary mess before it could solidify. “At least I don’t look like something out of a bukkake porno.”

Jack gasped dramatically, mockingly scandalized. “Such  _ filth _ . How dare you?”

“This coming from the man who, just the other day, randomly showed me a gif from some tentacle hentai thing,” Gabe retorted with a chuckle.

“If I had to see it, so did you. I couldn’t be the only one scarred for life.”

Gabe only shook his head, shoulders bouncing with silent laughter.

They sat by the fire for a couple hours, as the sky darkened and the stars sparkled above them. Jack watched the fire burn and crackle, smoke and embers swirling up and dissipating into the night sky. He barely registered Gabriel leaning against him. Gabe let out a deep, contented sigh, eyes half-lidded as he watched the fire begin to burn itself out. Jack admired the way the light from the fire reflected Gabriel’s skin, his naturally warm tones almost glowing like the embers.

Gabe met his eyes with a soft smile before sitting up and stretching, barely hiding a yawn. “Should probably turn in,” he said, nodding towards the tent. “Fire’s just about dead, anyway.”

Jack nodded, started scattering sand in the fire ring to extinguish the last of the flames. “Another long day tomorrow.”

“And again after that,” Gabe agreed.

They both settled into their sleeping bags, and Jack dozed off listening to Gabe’s soft breathing, thinking about embers dancing in dark eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, constructive criticism is encouraged!  
> I'm hoping to keep an every other day update schedule, if I can, so, seeya tuesday :D


	3. Chapter Two: New Mexico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From Arizona to New Mexico, with a brief stop to hike up a mountain.

Gabe woke to birdsong and sunrays through the thin fabric of the tent, back sore from uneven ground, surrounded by the rich scent of a campfire. He sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Still better than Basic, he thought blearily. He grabbed his phone, checked the time; just past 0700. Huh, he’d slept in for once.

Beside him, Jack still slept soundly, cocooned in his sleeping bag. Best to let him sleep, Gabe decided. Five hours of driving yesterday, and probably four more today? He deserved it. Carefully, quietly, Gabe snuck out of the tent, grabbing his water bottle and a protein bar as he went. He sat at the now extinguished fire ring, stared out at mountains.

It really was amazing out here. The red banded mountains almost made the landscape look alien, and the odd rock formations and colorful petrified logs made it even more so. If not for the clear blue sky overhead, Gabe would compare it to science-fiction depictions of Mars.

As he finished his protein bar, he heard Jack crawl out of the tent. A few moments later, he plopped down beside him.

“Morning,” Jack grunted, voice gruff as it always was just after waking.

“Good morning.” Gabe passed him the water bottle, let him finish it off. “What are you thinking for breakfast?”

Jack shrugged. “How about some fast food garbage so we can get back on the road?”

“Eager to get going?”

He nodded. “The sooner we leave, the sooner we get there.”

Gabe frowned. “I thought you were excited for this trip?”

“Oh, I am, but, honestly, I’m more excited to show you my hometown. I mean, it’s not much, not like LA, but it’s still home. I think you’ll like the farm, too.”

“From what you’ve described, it sounds peaceful,” Gabe agreed.

Jack smiled. “It really is. Sometimes it’s nice to be somewhere you can just slow down. Everything’s been so fast lately: the training, the injections. It’s only gonna get worse if the omnics rebel like everyone thinks they will.” He paused, eyes downcast. “And if that happens, who knows if we’ll ever get another chance to relax.”

Gabe almost agreed, then he saw the look on Jack’s face. Hollow eyed, stress lines forming on his forehead, lips pressed into a tight line. He didn’t need any more negativity. He needed a distraction.

Gabe nudged him gently with his elbow, shot him a slight smirk. “Man, you are maudlin in the mornings.”

The tension in Jack’s face disappeared immediately as he let out a curt laugh. “Gee, thanks.”

This trip needed to be an escape from their problems. Talk of the crisis looming on the horizon didn’t help anyone right now, least of all the two of them. They’d be in the thick of it soon enough, after all.

* * *

 

After a brief stop for a greasy fast food breakfast, they hit the road again, soon crossing the border into New Mexico. Gabe had to admit: he really enjoyed not driving. He’d never really enjoyed driving, after growing up riding his bike everywhere. He’d only gotten the truck when he started college, needing something for the commute, but kept it after dropping out to join the military. He needed to have a purpose beyond the academic, full-ride scholarship be damned.

Jack, however, loved driving, though he didn’t have a car of his own. He’d told Gabe about the motorcycle he was fixing up once or twice, and the way his eyes gleamed when he spoke about it would’ve clued Gabe in, if he hadn’t already seen the man’s childlike glee while behind the wheel of one of the Jeeps. The man was a right nightmare in an offroader, speeding along way faster than was necessary— or wise— always knowing how to attack any obstacle he came across. Thankfully, he toned it down when on an actual road.

In any case, Gabe didn’t mind Jack’s commandeering of his truck at all. Now, just past Albuquerque, New Mexico, he found himself glad, even. If he were driving, he wouldn’t get to marvel at the mountain just ahead.

As far as mountains went, Gabriel had seen bigger, had  _ climbed _ bigger, in fact. The mountains ahead (the Sandia Mountains, his datapad informed him— the  _ watermelon _ mountains? What the hell?) shouldn’t have captured his interest the way they had, but, he kept going through the photo galleries his datapad brought up, and  _ damn. _ There were some amazing views up there. Facing west, you could just see the Rio Grande. To the north, east, and south, more mountains. Anywhere you looked, it seemed, you saw something beautiful.

He turned down the music, he hadn’t paid attention to it in a while, anyway. “Hey, how do you feel about taking a break for lunch, and then hiking up a mountain?” he asked Jack.

“I feel good about that,” Jack answered immediately. “Very good, even. Have a specific mountain in mind? Or restaurant, for that matter?”

Gabe relayed the info he found, and after a quick lunch, they drove to the start of one of the highest recommended trails to the mountain’s peak..

“Says it’s a five mile hike from here,” Gabe read off the datapad. “What’s that for us? Little less than half an hour if we set a reasonable rate, right?”

“Sounds about right.” Jack took a second to stretch, starting with his calves, before dropping into a lunge, and then sat, stretching one leg out straight, then leaning over until his torso was nearly parallel to his leg.

God, he was flexible. His tank top rode up on his hip, showing off the muscles of his side and a tiny peek of his abs. Was it even legal to be that hot without even trying? If it was, it shouldn’t be. Gabe should probably follow his example though; the last thing he wanted was a pulled hamstring. He joined in, and they both went through the motions for a few moments before setting off.

Compared to the intense runs they were used to from SEP training, the hike to the Sandia crest felt like a leisurely walk. They moved at their jogging pace, which was nearly a sprint for normal people, casually chatting as they went. Many of the other trails had Spanish names, Gabriel noticed, so he translated some of the names for Jack, who always listened raptly whenever Gabe spoke Spanish. The trail names were pretty mundane, but the mountain range itself at least got a laugh.

“Seriously?” Jack asked as the neared the peak. “Sandia means  _ watermelon _ ?”

Gabe laughed. “Right? What about this place is supposed to be watermelon-y?”

Jack shook his head, chuckling lowly.

They’d barely broken a sweat by the time they reached the crest, a railed platform crawling with tourists. Beyond the mass of people, jagged rock and trees stretched into the distance. Albuquerque could just barely be seen far below, blocky buildings and the gray lines of the highway. After wading through the crowd, they got a better look.

Jack, of course, immediately leaned over the railing in an attempt to see down as far as he could. Gabe sighed. Always the adrenaline junkie. That would get him hurt one of these days, Gabe just knew it. He nudged Jack back a bit before settling with his arms crossed over the railing.

“I bet it looks even more amazing at night,” Jack mused. “The city all lit up, the moon overhead. Stars should be pretty clear at this altitude, too. We’d get off schedule if we stayed, though.”

“Too bad,” Gabe said. “Maybe on the way back to LA we can camp somewhere around here,” he suggested.

Jack’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like a great idea. Probably cheaper than a motel room, anyway.”

They explored the crest and the surrounding trails for a little while, seeking out the best views they could find. At one point, Jack found a rocky outcropping, and sat on the very edge, legs dangling against the cliff. Gabe’s heart almost leapt into his throat at the sight.

“Jack,  _ jesus! _ What are you doing?” he hissed.

Jack grinned back at him. “It’s beautiful. Look.”

Gabe crouched just behind him, hand on Jack’s shoulder, just in case. “One of these days, you’re gonna fall off of something,” he grumbled.

Jack scoffed. “A little credit, please.”

It was pretty beautiful, Gabe decided. Below them, the rock sloped out, dangerously steep and covered in jagged edges.

“Why do you like heights so much?” Gabe asked. That was something he’d noticed about Jack a long time ago: his affinity for finding high, dangerous places, and being right at home there.

“You’ll understand when you see Indiana,” Jack laughed. “It’s just so  _ flat _ . The highest point in the state isn’t even 1500 feet. So, places like this are totally foreign to me, completely new experiences.” He sighed, leaned back a bit to look up at the sky. “Also, I’m a total adrenaline junkie, but you already knew that.”

Gabe huffed. “No kidding.” Confident that Jack wasn’t about to slide off the cliff, Gabe took a couple steps back. Silently, he raised his phone and took a photo. Jack, gazing out at the mountains, the sun dipping down just past the top of the frame, illuminating the man below in golds and yellows, set against the pale blue sky. Gorgeous. He set it as the phone’s wallpaper, and fought the urge to roll his eyes at himself.

God, he was so hopeless. Absolutely gone. So much for suppressing those feelings. Although, at this point, he wasn’t sure he wanted to suppress them at all.

He thought of the night before, sitting with Jack by the fire, teasing him when he got marshmallow all over his face, leaning on him as the fatigue of the busy day made sitting up too much work. The way Jack had looked at him, like it was the happiest he’d ever been. He thought of the too-tight feeling in his chest, the way his heart sped up when Jack was close. He thought of  _ Jack _ ; the way they could joke with each other, they way they could  _ rely _ on each other. From the day they first met, they had each other’s backs.

He almost smiled as he realized: he didn’t want this feeling to go away.

* * *

 

They stopped for the night in Amarillo, Texas, where they had a motel room reserved. After a thorough sweep for bed bugs and mold, Jack belly-flopped onto one of the twin beds with a relieved groan.

“You can’t be that tired,” Gabe said, sitting on the adjacent bed. “You’re a super soldier. I  _ know _ a mountain didn’t get the better of you.”

Jack extracted his face from the pillow long enough to cock an eyebrow at Gabriel. “What, you’ve never been happy to see a bed before? We slept in sleeping bags last night. My spine is thanking me right now.”

Gabe wouldn’t say so, but as he stretched out on the mattress, he kind of agreed.

“And as far as hikes go, that barely even counted,” Jack went on.

“True. Maybe if we have time when we get back to California I could take you up to Yosemite. Some great hiking trails and mountains up there.”

Jack sat up, eyes all but sparkling. “Oh, yeah, definitely. I’ve always wanted to go there.”

Gabe hummed, sinking further into the mattress. “Y’know, when I heard we were getting two weeks leave, it seemed like a lot. But now that I’m thinking about everywhere we should go, it’s like no time at all.”

“I know,” Jack groaned. “Being on the road like this just makes me want to travel more. There are so many places I want to go with you.”

And there it went again, his heart trying to beat out of his chest. He barely stopped himself from blurting out something sappy and stupid, like ‘I want to see the world with you’.

That was exactly what he wanted, though. He wanted to travel the world with Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, parks keep happening in this fic. I look at the map, see a cool park, and decide 'hey! they should go here for no apparent reason!'


	4. Chapter Three: Texas/Oklahoma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Through Texas and most of Oklahoma. Conversation. Introspection.

They got going early the next morning. It was their last full day of driving. They’d stop right at the edge of Oklahoma tonight, cross Missouri and Illinois tomorrow, and make it to Medora before nightfall. As much as Jack enjoyed travelling, he had to admit: it would be nice to stay in one place for a little while. They wouldn’t get to stay in Indiana very long, however; after a few days, they would turn around and drive back to LA, then it wouldn’t be long before they shipped back out for more SEP training. Jack sighed as they crossed the border into Oklahoma. They hadn’t even been on leave for a week, yet, and already he had to start thinking about going back.

Why couldn’t he have chosen a more stable career? Something that would give him time off, so he could go on vacation with his friends or family more often than once in a blue moon. They hadn’t gotten even a month’s warning about summer leave; not nearly enough time to plan an actual vacation. That was why they decided on a roadtrip to visit their families instead. Of course he looked forward to seeing his family again, but part of him couldn’t help but yearn for an  _ actual _ vacation with Gabriel. The two of them just relaxing somewhere nice. Maybe camping, lounging by the bonfire every night, living only for themselves. Or maybe a nice trip to the beach, lying on the sand, swimming in the ocean. Jack making fun of Gabe’s tan lines, Gabe laughing at Jack’s ridiculous sunburn. What about a cabin in the mountains? Hiking every day, taking in the world’s natural beauty. Really, anywhere with Gabe would be fun. When the two of them were together, they could make the best of anything.

He knew this was the only path for him, though. Protecting his country, his world, humanity in general; that was more important than anything.

“You look deep in thought,” Gabe remarked. “Anything interesting?”

“Just thinking about my life choices,” Jack half-lied.

Gabe laughed humorlessly. “Regretting letting the military turn you into their personal pet project?”

“Nah, not really. Just wondering how things would be different if I’d never gone into the military in the first place.”

“What would you have done instead?”

He took a moment to think. “Most likely, I would’ve just stayed on the farm, took it over when my parents retired.” He cringed. “As much as I love the farm, I can’t imagine farming for the rest of my life.”

“Ideally, then. If you could be anything at all, what would you be?”

Jack drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “I… don’t really know. It was always just expected that I’d work on the farm. I never thought about doing anything else until they started talking about tensions with the omnics, then I knew I had to enlist.”

Gabriel gaped at him. “Seriously. If someone asked you when you were a kid what you wanted to be when you grew up, you would’ve told them ‘a farmer’?”

“Oh no. As a kid I wanted to be a monster truck driver,” Jack laughed.

“So you’ve always been an adrenalin junkie.” Gabe raised an eyebrow. “Somehow, I’m not even surprised.”

“Yeah, that’s not a new thing. Anyway, thinking about it seriously, I think I would’ve been something medical. My favorite part of training was the field-medic work. I probably would’ve been a nurse, or something like that.”

Gabe nodded slowly. “Yeah, I can imagine that.”

“What about you?” Jack asked. “You mentioned being in college before enlisting. What did you study?”

“I was still getting through my gen ed requirements, but I’d narrowed it down to a few programs,” Gabe explained. “I was trying to decide between teaching or social work. I also thought about getting my Ph.D in psych and becoming a therapist.”

“You wanted to help people, make a difference,” Jack realized.

Gabe smiled. “Still do, just in a different way.”

“And you call  _ me _ a boy scout.”

“I call you that because you’re an impossible idealist who always plays by the rules,” Gabe teased.

Jack chuckled. “You’ve got me there.”

“What got you thinking about all that, anyway?”

“Just…” He paused, pursed his lips. Would Gabe think this was weird? “Just thinking about all the places we could go if we had more time, if we had normal lives,” he finally said.

Gabe frowned, expression almost wistful. “I’ve been thinking about that, too,” he admitted. “I keep thinking about all these places you would love, or places I’ve never been, but I’d like to see with you.”

“What’s at the top of that list?”

He ran a hand through his curls, brow furrowed. “God, I don’t even know. There’s so many places. Neither of us has been to New Orleans, right? I think that would be a great place to start. Just dick around and be stupid tourists together during Mardi Gras. Or maybe somewhere on the east coast? I’ve never seen the Atlantic.”

“Yeah, lots of historical stuff on the east coast. Think you could put up with me being a giant history nerd in Boston?”

“I’m sure I could handle it. Maybe we could head south. I have some family near Dorado I haven’t visited in a while. My tia would  _ love _ you.”

Jack wracked his brain. “Dorado… that’s in Mexico, right? Huh.”

Gabe squared his jaw. “Got a problem with Mexico?”

“No, but— you have to promise not to laugh at me.”

“Um, okay?” Gabe agreed, defensive glare replaced with more of a quizzical frown.

Jack sighed, stared resolutely out the windshield so he didn’t have to meet Gabe’s eyes. “I’ve never left the country,” he mumbled. “I’ve only ever been deployed stateside.”

“What? Next time we get leave, you’re coming to Dorado with me. You have to travel abroad before actually getting deployed overseas, or you’ll never want to leave the country again.”

“Okay, but that means you’ll have to teach me Spanish,” Jack said.

Gabe rolled his eyes. “Bien, eso es justo. Prepárate para aprender.”

“I didn’t mean right now!” Jack sputtered.

Gabe chuckled. “Well, why not? It’s not like we have anything better to do.”

“I dunno, I was kind of enjoying thinking about future vacations.”

“Haven’t even finished this trip, and you’re already roping me into more.” Gabe leaned on the center console, turning to better face Jack. “Where else do you want to go?”

Jack fell silent for a moment, thinking. “I’d like to see England and Ireland someday,” he said. “Supposedly, that’s where most of my ancestors were from. Or maybe Italy, or Greece, someplace with a lot of history. And Egypt, or maybe even South Africa; cradle of humanity, and all that. What about you?”

Gabe scratched his chin, smoothed out his goatee. “I’ve heard about a cherry blossom festival somewhere in Japan. Hanamura, I think. It sounds beautiful. I want to go to Iraq outside of deployment, too. You don’t really get to experience a country when all you do there is train and patrol. My unit did some security work for some big university being built in a place called Oasis, and construction just wrapped up a few months back. I’d like to see it now that it’s finished.”

“We’re gonna need a lot of time off,” Jack concluded.

Conversation went on idly for a while after that, until Gabe turned up the radio again somewhere in Middle of Nowhere, Oklahoma.

Not once in their entire trip had Jack seen anywhere as empty as this stretch of eastbound I-40. It was empty, and it was flat— just as flat as Indiana. For the first time since he started driving, Jack felt like he might start drifting off. The SEP augmentations had kept his mind sharp and his reflexes quick the past few days, but even that was starting to reach its limits. The hum of the truck’s engine, the rush of the wind over the roof, the soft music on the edge of his awareness; it all lulled him deeper. His eyelids started to flutter shut…

Gabe twisted the volume dial up several clicks, and Jack nearly jumped out of his seat, teeth clenching painfully to choke back a startled shout. The sound  _ blared _ , he could feel the drumline in his bones, the bass in his muscles, and the rest of it blasted his ear drums until he thought they might rupture. Just as abruptly as it raised, the volume shot back down, leaving Jack wide eyed and sitting up ramrod straight.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Jack insisted, trying to ignore the miniature heart attack he’d just had.

Gabe raised an eyebrow. “You sure? Looked like you might be dozing off, there.”

“Well, I’m not anymore,” Jack said dryly. “You made sure of that.”

“You’re welcome for that, by the way,” Gabe joked, eyes glinting. “You sure you don’t want me to take over? You’ve been driving for a while.”

Jack shook his head. “We’re nearly to Oklahoma City. We can break there for lunch, and then you can drive for the rest of the day.”

Gabe furrowed his brow, clearly doubtful, but he took Jack’s word for it.

Oklahoma City came up pretty quickly, and with it, lunch, and Gabe’s turn to drive. As much as Jack wanted to deny it, he was relieved to have a break. As they got going again, Jack couldn’t help but notice the way Gabe kept glancing at him, with that same indiscernible expression he’d seen back in Arizona, though, now it seemed to hold some concern, as well. Had Gabe been that worried Jack would fall asleep at the wheel? No, Gabe knew him too well for that, knew he wouldn’t put them in danger like that.

“Are you sure you still want to do most of the driving?” Gabe asked, startling Jack out of his introspection. “I really don’t mind, you know. If you need a break, just say so.”

Jack waved a hand dismissively. “Nah, Oklahoma’s just boring as hell. Almost put me to sleep. I’ll be fine to pick back up tomorrow.”

It was the way Gabe’s lips twitched in an aborted frown that made it click. Gabe was  _ worried _ about him. Then Gabe shot him that same look again, the smallest smile, so relaxed that the premature stress lines on his brow smoothed, eyes warm and fond, content, or even affectionate—

That was it! That was the look he hadn’t been able to place, and no wonder why, really; Jack had never been very good with… emotions in general. But Gabe kept looking at him with such  _ affection _ , and Jack— Jack liked it. He’d always been somewhat aware of the small crush he had on Gabriel, but he’d pushed it to the back of his mind, refusing to dwell on it too much. Nothing would ever come of it, he’d thought, best to just forget about it, keep everything professional. Even as they got closer, became close friends, Jack kept those emotions locked up so tight he couldn’t even see that they might not be so pointless after all.

Now that he dwelled on it, though; now it all rushed to the surface, hitting him like the kick of a powerful rifle. Gabe seemed to understand him more than anyone Jack had ever met, even though they’d only known each other for a year. They could rely on each other through anything, could practically anticipate each other’s moves, in and out of battle. He supposed that was what happened when two people went through an experimental super soldier program together.

Even so, it felt like what they had together was more. Deeper. They had to work together as a unit; they were partners, after all. But not every assigned pair in the SEP got along like he and Gabe did. Some of them only got along on the field. The pair in the dorm next to theirs, for example. Outside of training, those two had only two modes: complete silence, or all-out, screaming, throwdown arguments. Other pairs were simply apathetic towards each other, or all professionalism with no room for camaraderie. Others did strike up friendships, but none grew as close as he and Gabe. What they had was more than a shared experience.

It wasn’t as if they didn’t have problems. Jack knew his idealism got on Gabe’s nerves, sometimes, and Gabe’s habit of shutting down and withdrawing whenever he got stressed drove Jack crazy. They were honest about these things, however; they communicated. As long as they could talk things through, they could work out almost anything. They cared too much about each other to pretend. Their relationship was the healthiest one Jack had ever been in, and it wasn’t even romantic.

But, could it be? Was that an option? 

He stole a glance at Gabe, leaning back in the driver’s seat, steering wheel in a one-handed grip, one finger tapping out the rhythm of the song on the radio. Relaxed. The other SEP recruits sometimes joked about Gabe’s ‘resting murder face’, but that was nowhere to be seen right now. Gabe met his gaze, smiled just a little. He started singing along under his breath, the song one Jack didn’t recognize, but enjoyed all the same. For a few moments, Jack stopped thinking, and just listened to the lyrics.

_ “And in the end, I’d do it all again, I think you’re my best friend…” _

_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter, mostly just some background and some of my headcanons. I headcanon them both as being total nerds, but Jack is more of a history nerd, while Gabe is a science nerd.


	5. Chapter Four: Missouri/Illinois

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Passing through Missouri, with a stop at the Gateway Arch, and then not _quite_ all the way to Indiana.

Gabe was beginning to tire of motel rooms, and this was only the second one he’d been in this week. Good thing it was also the last on this side of the trip.

When he woke, Jack was already up and about, apparently returning from a breakfast run.

“Gotta love free breakfast,” Jack said hoisting up a nearly overflowing tray of food. A cursory glance revealed four bagels, two doughnuts, a plate of waffles, and two tiny boxes of generic brand fruity cereal, along with a couple mugs Gabe assumed to be coffee.

“They let you take all that?” Gabe asked, jumping out of bed to clear off the tiny desk in the corner.

Jack set down the tray, grabbed one of the bagels. “They weren’t even paying attention. I grabbed whatever I could fit on the tray.”

“And then some,” Gabe remarked, eyeing the tray again. He took one of the waffles, folded it in half, and ate it like a taco. Without butter and syrup, the waffle was pretty plain, but it was still warm and fluffy, at least. When he was done, he took a look at the coffee. One mug clearly left alone, the other about five shades lighter from all the cream and sugar in it. Jack picked up the former.

“I can’t believe you like all that sugar in your coffee,” Jack said, shaking his head.

Gabe took a long sip, and found it to be exactly the way he liked it. “I can’t believe you remember how I take my coffee.”

Jack stuffed a waffle in his mouth, but it didn’t hide the way his cheeks flushed. He mumbled something around his mouthful, then turned away.

Gabe chuckled, but otherwise let breakfast proceed silently.

* * *

 

With Jack at the wheel once again, they set off on the final stretch. Today’s trip would be a bit different, as Jack had scheduled a stop at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

“I went there a few times with my family when I was young,” Jack had explained. “I always had a great time. I know it’s just another tourist trap, but I loved going to the top and seeing the city right below me. I’ve been meaning to visit again, and we just happen to be driving right past it. You wanna check it out?”

Gabe had agreed, of course. He’d dragged Jack around to some of the tourist traps in LA, it was only fair to let Jack do the same. And, honestly? He was kind of looking forward to it. He wanted to see the sparkle in Jack’s eyes as he looked down at St. Louis, wanted to take stupid selfies with him in front of the arch, wanted to walk through the city with him and take in the sights.

Ugh. He had it bad.

In any case, the drive to the Arch passed by quickly and uneventfully. Finding somewhere to park was another story altogether. It became immediately clear that Jack had no city driving experience when he started looking for a parallel parking spot without a meter, drawing honks from other drivers and embarrassed groans from Gabriel.

“It’s fine, Jack,” he insisted. “I’ll pay for parking, just choose a spot before someone rearends us out of spite.”

Jack huffed, but took the next space he saw, and Gabe filled the meter with quarters.

“I can’t believe these things still exist,” Gabe grumbled, mostly to himself. “You’d think there’d be a better alternative by now.”

Jack sidled up next to him, arms crossed over his chest. “How much time do we have?”

“I put in three dollar’s worth just to be on the safe—” He cut himself off as his eyes fell on Jack. “Hang on a second, uncross your arms.”

Jack raised an eyebrow, but stretched his arms out, and sure enough— 

Gabriel stifled a giggle. Jack rolled his eyes.

Jack’s left arm had turned bright red with sunburn, with just the slightest bit of his usual pale color peeking out under his sleeve. The right arm, however, was just as pale as ever.

“I didn’t know you could get sunburned through a  _ closed  _ car window,” Gabe said, trying for a casual tone and falling very, very short.

Jack sighed and crossed his arms again, but not without a wince as it disturbed the burnt skin. “It’s a gift.”

“What is?” Gabe asked mischievously. “Being half lobster?”

“Oh my god,” Jack muttered, burying his face in his hands to hide his smile. “You are ridiculous.”

“You love it,” Gabe preened, head held high.

Jack’s cheeks flushed to the same color as his sunburn. “So what?”

And just like that, Gabe had a blush to match.

They walked on in silence, but the way their knuckles kept brushing couldn’t be coincidence. They had to wait to go up the Arch, of course, but Jack kept Gabe entertained with stories of the other times he’d visited, reminiscing about sightseeing trips with his folks.

“We didn’t get a lot of time for vacations,” Jack said, “but when we did, we tried to do it right. We went to a bunch of big cities in the midwest; here, Chicago, Detroit, even all the way up to Milwaukee once. It’s crazy, the differences between the tiny town I’m from and big cities like this. Hell, even Bloomington is a far cry from places like this.”

Gabe laughed. “To me, this place almost feels like a small town. LA is way bigger.”

Jack rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah, I didn’t want to say anything, but LA was so much bigger than I expected. There were just so many people  _ everywhere _ , I don’t know how you can stand it! That was kind of why I kept trying to talk you out of the tourist traps.”

Of course! How did he not see it? Los Angeles was giant; one of the largest cities in the country, and Jack was from a town of less than a thousand people. It was no wonder Jack had been so squirrely the whole time they’d been in California.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Jack, that didn’t even occur to me.” He dragged a hand through his hair, fingers catching in his curls. “I should’ve realized.”

Jack shrugged. “It’s not that big a deal. I still had fun. Like, when we went to the beach; I had a great time there.” He leaned over a bit, bumped shoulders with Gabe. “Don’t worry so much.”

Gabe leaned into it, let their fingers brush again. He might’ve imagine it, but it definitely felt like Jack’s hand lingered against his. Neither of them moved away until they reached the Arch’s observation deck, at which point, Jack rushed over to the windows. By the time Gabe made it to his side, Jack already had his face up against the window.

“Check it out,” Jack said, beckoning Gabe even closer.

Gabe scooched forward until his face was right next to Jack’s. “These are some tiny windows,” he remarked, trying to make himself comfortable against the slanted sill.

“Look down,” Jack directed.

Gabe set his forehead against the glass, and fought the lurch in his stomach as he saw the drop below. There was just something… nauseating about deliberately staring straight down at a city, but after a second of adjustment, he could definitely see the appeal.

From their vantage point, they could see almost all of St. Louis. Gabe wasn’t familiar enough with the city to recognize anything, but he could see a baseball stadium, what appeared to be a courthouse, and several tall buildings.

“Oh,” he breathed. “Wow.”

“Right?”

Gabe tore his gaze away from the city to meet Jack’s eyes. Jack shot him a bright smile before looking down again. Under the guise of trying to get a better look, Gabe squeezed in closer, resting a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

Jack started pointing out landmarks, but Gabe couldn’t focus on anything but Jack himself. They were so close that Gabe could just about count Jack’s eyelashes, could see the hint of stubble dusting his jaw, could pick out the subtle variations in the blue of Jack’s eyes. He was so absorbed that he didn’t even notice when Jack stopped talking, but to be fair, Jack didn’t even seem to mind. He just stared back with a calm smile.

* * *

 

The storm started rolling in right before they got back to their trip, the first rolls of thunder sounding as they revisited the ‘soda vs. pop’ argument.

“No, just you watch,” Jack said. “Listen. I’m gonna prove it.”

“Nobody says ‘pop’, Morrison. Give it up already.”

Jack just put his index finger to his lips, before turning to the approaching waiter.

“Are you ready to place your drink orders?” the waiter asked.

Jack frowned, cocked his head. “Well, what are the options?”

“We got water, coffee, tea, pop, or lemonade…”

Gabe stopped listening, instead rolling his eyes at Morrison, who smirked back at him and ordered two glasses of pop. Neither of them registered the low rumble of thunder in the distance, nor did they see the dark clouds rolling in. They didn’t notice the incoming storm at all until the left the restaurant and saw the rain pounding down on the pavement.

“Oh,” Gabe said simply.

Jack nodded, frowned. “And we parked, what, three blocks away?”

Gabe cursed under his breath. “Ready to make a run for it?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

They made a mad dash back to the truck, weaving between tourists with umbrellas and hopping over puddles, still getting soaked before they made it halfway. More thunder growled above them, the slow, deep rumble of a far off storm, following just barely visible flashes of lightning on the horizon.

They finally made it to the truck, laughing as they dove inside.

“We must’ve looked ridiculous,” Jack giggled, pushing his drenched hair back out of his face. He managed to get it to cooperate a little, but several stray locks spiked out in all directions.

“You look ridiculous now,” Gabe pointed out, though a glance in the rearview mirror told him he didn’t fare any better. “Let’s get going before the storm gets any worse.”

Unfortunately, they seemed to be driving right into the storm. The thunder got louder and more frequent, and the rain picked up to the point where Gabe had to slow down to be able to see the road ahead. To make matters worse, they’d stayed in St. Louis a bit longer than anticipated, so night approached quickly, reducing visibility even more.

“This is useless,” Gabe grumbled. They were somewhere in eastern Illinois, not far from Indiana according to the GPS, and it was nearly eight PM. “We’re not gonna be able to make it to your place tonight, not in this weather.

Jack groaned. “What are we gonna do?”

Gabe shrugged. “We have to stop for the night.” A particularly bright streak of lightning lit up the sky, followed by an earsplitting crash of thunder, as if to illustrate his point. “See if you can find a motel nearby.”

Jack grabbed his datapad. “There’s one a few miles down the road, it says it has a couple rooms left.”

With Jack’s direction, they made it to the motel safe and sound.

A clerk looked up as they entered the lobby. “Hello, what can I do for you?”

“We need a room for the night,” Gabe said. “Whatever you have available.”

The clerk turned to their computer, frowning after a few keystrokes. “We have three rooms available, all of them single queens. Will that be all right?”

He and Jack exchanged a glance. Jack gave a half shrug and a nod.

“Yeah, that’ll work,” Gabe said.

They paid for the room and got directions to a nearby restaurant, and after their late dinner, headed up to the room.

“I’ll take the couch, if you want,” Gabe offered as he dug the keycard out of his pocket.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Jack said, following him inside once the door was unlocked.

Gabe stopped short as he surveyed the room. “Never mind; no couch.”

The room had to be the most bare bones affair they’d seen on the entire trip. Just a bed, a desk with a wooden chair, an old TV, and a bathroom. Nothing more. There wasn’t even a mini-fridge or a microwave.

“I don’t mind sharing if you don’t.” Jack struggled out of his drenched shirt, threw it over the towel rack to dry. “We should probably dry off first, though.” He tossed Gabriel a towel.

Gabe scrubbed the towel through his hair until it was as dry as it would get, before stripping down to his boxers as Jack did the same.

“I texted my parents, let them know we won’t be there until tomorrow,” Jack said as he examined the rooms for mold and bedbugs. “Apparently, they’ve got storms right now, too. Typical midwest summer, really: hot and humid all day, storms at night.”

Gabe grimaced. “Never been a fan of humidity.”

Jack just shrugged. “You get used to it. Look forward to it after winter some—” he cut himself off with a wide yawn.

“Go get ready for bed. I’ll finished the perimeter check,” Gabe promised.

“You sure?” Jack asked, even as he dug his toothbrush out of his duffel bag.

Gabe hefted up the mattress, found it free of parasites. A search through the covers produced the same results. “Yeah, it’s clean. Go ahead and relax.”

“Fanksh,” Jack said around the toothbrush.

Gabe shook his head, stifling a laugh.

Nighttime rituals over, they settled into bed.

“I’m little spoon,” Gabe joked.

Jack slid in behind him. “Mmkay,” he muttered, and threw an arm over Gabe’s waist.

Gabe chuckled. “Guess I should've seen that coming.”

To Gabe’s surprise, Jack didn't remove his arm. In fact, within minutes, his breathing evened out into the steady rhythm of sleep, and unconsciously, he snuggled a bit closer, arm tightening the littlest bit around Gabe.

Gabe buried his face in the pillow, hiding his smile even though no one was awake to see it. Stupid golden boy, too sleep addled to recognize a joke, too cute for his own good, too honest, too nice. Estupido chico de oro, warm against his back, keeping him safe and secure, reminding him he wasn't alone. Stupid  _ Jack,  _ always ready with a shoulder to lean on, listening patiently, just happy to be helpful in any way.

This wasn't even the first time Jack had spooned him, though the last instance barely counted, since they were both too sick to think clearly. It had been one of the more intense rounds of injections, rendering them unable to keep anything down, even water, so they'd spent the last 18 hours or so lying side by side on the bathroom floor, trying not to die.

_ “Are we gonna die like this?” _ Gabe remembered asking no one in particular.

_ “No,”  _ Jack had said, determined even as his voice shook.

_ “How can you be sure?” _

_ “I won't let us die like this,”  _ Jack replied solemnly.  _ “I won't let it happen.” _

Gabe wasn't sure why, but somehow, he believed him.  _ “Thank you.” _

Jack had turned onto his side, weakly put an arm around Gabe.  _ “Sleep,”  _ he said.  _ “I won’t let us die.” _

And Gabe had trusted him completely. Anchored by the comforting weight of Jack’s arm, he’d drifted off. When he woke about 12 hours later, dehydrated and starving, but mind clear, Jack still had an arm around him. If not for that proof, Gabe would’ve assumed it had been a dream. Jack never said anything about it, or even shown any signs that he remembered it at all.

Just as it had last time, Jack’s comforting presence at his back lulled him to the edge of consciousness. As Gabe wavered between sleep and awareness, he felt Jack tuck his face against the back of his neck, and his heart clenched. Here, in this overpriced motel room, listening to the patter of rain and the rumble of thunder, with Jack’s breath tickling his neck, he felt calmest he’d been in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I've never been further west than eastern Illinois... so we're only just now getting into territory I have any experience with, haha! Just a couple chapters left now, folks! As always, constructive criticism is greatly encouraged!


	6. Chapter Five: Medora, Indiana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Indiana, where things are resolved at last.

Jack’s family gave them both a warm reception, of course, smothering Jack in hugs, shaking Gabe’s hand and asking him all about himself. That only lasted about five minutes. As soon as they made it past the foyer, Morrisons seemed to appear from the woodworks. According to Jack's folks, relatives had come in from as far away as Wisconsin, Tennessee, even Georgia, for an impromptu family reunion.

For most of the day, they were swarmed by Jack’s extended family. Apparently, everyone from grandparents, to great aunts and uncles, to cousins of various degrees, wanted to come up and see the family golden boy for the first time in years. That meant Gabriel got to take up the role of awkward non-related guest, sitting quietly in the corner or in front of the TV, watching as Jack chatted with relatives he clearly didn’t remember, while occasionally shooting baleful glances Gabriel’s way. Gabe couldn’t help but smirk at those.

Even through dinner, Gabe was left mostly on his own. Jack had tried to get him to sit by his side at the main dining table, but by the time they got there, only one space was left, clearly reserved for Jack. As Jack was all but forced into his seat, Gabe filed up a plate and found a seat at a different table, though he could feel Jack's eyes following him as he went. Gabe kind of felt for him. He obviously hadn't expected so many people, and had made it pretty clear through his expressions that he'd rather just hang out with Gabe, but he didn't want to completely blow off everyone who was so excited to see him. That didn't mean Gabe had to enjoy making awkward small talk with Jack's cousins, though.

The family held them up until all the dishes from dessert had been washed and dried, but the very second they were, Jack took Gabe by the hand and practically dragged him out the door.

“I am  _ so _ sorry,” Jack said as soon as they were out of earshot. “They didn’t tell me they’d invited so many people! God, I thought it would just be immediate family, but it’s like they got every relative I’ve ever met, and then some more I didn’t even know about!” He dragged a hand over his face, groaned. “I thought this would be just a nice, relaxing time on the farm, not a god damned family reunion!” He threw his hands up. “And they just ignored you! It’s like they didn’t even care. What if you were my boyfriend, or something? What kind of first impression would that leave? And it’s not as if we don’t both know why they were so eager to pretend you weren’t there; they are so, unbelievably—”

“It’s okay, Jack,” Gabe cut in. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“It wasn’t good,” Jack grumbled, still scowling.

Gabe almost smiled. Leave it to Jack to leap to Gabe’s defense, even if he didn’t really need it. “Where are we going, anyway?”

Jack shrugged. “Just out in the fields. Somewhere quiet.”

Jack led them in the rapidly fading light, past field of various vegetables (mostly corn, Gabe noticed), past run down old barns, and finally to an open, empty field. He laid down a ratty blanket Gabe had even seen him grab, and sat down with a huff.

“I really am sorry,” Jack said again as Gabe settled in beside him. “I didn’t want you to meet my family like this. Your folks were so welcoming when we were over there. I mean, your parents genuinely seemed to want to talk to me, and your abuela was so nice.”

“You only think that because she showed you all my baby pictures,” Gabe said. “She can be scary mean when she wants to be.”

Jack laughed softly. “Yeah, that makes sense. I got a kinda badass vibe from her. Reminded me of you.” His smile faded as he shook his head. “Did any of my relatives even talk to you?”

“Your parents did for a little while.”

“And after that?”

“Uh, no. Not really. Some of your cousins tried to chat, but not much. It’s really not that big a deal, though,” he insisted. “I’m here for you. Not for them.”

Jack leaned against him, sighed. “Yeah, I just… I don’t know. You’re important to me, and so are they— well, some of them, at least. I wanted them to treat you like part of the family.”

Gabe’s heart clenched. Unsure how to respond, he just wrapped an arm around Jack’s shoulders.

After a few moments of silence, Gabe let go of Jack and laid back, crossing his arms behind his head. “The sky is really beautiful all the way out here.”

Jack laid down, too, scooching in a bit closer. “Do you know the constellations?”

“Just, like, the little dipper.” He pointed up at the northern star, traced the shape it formed with the surrounding stars. “Other than that, no. Do you?”

“Yeah, I went through a bit of an astronomy phase when I was a teenager.” He pointed at a clump of stars east of the little dipper, arranged in a sort of sideways ‘W’ shape. “That’s Cassiopeia. South of that is Cygnus, the swan.” He indicated another bunch of stars, this one forming more of a cross. “And right next to it is Lyra.” A cluster that looked kind of like a much smaller little dipper. “That’s all I really remember. Too bad we don’t have a full moon, or we’d be able to see the colony they’re building up there.”

“Wow,” Gabe breathed, staring up at the sky. He tried to retrace the constellations, but could only pick out a couple of them.

Something on the edge of his vision caught his eye. Another star, but this one moved slowly across the sky, before blinking out. He frowned, tilted his head to get a better look. It blinked on again, moved a little more, and went out.

“What about that blinking one?” he asked Jack, indicating the flashing star.

“Hm? I guess some of them might be pulsars, but—”

It lit up again. “That one! The one that keeps moving!”

Jack shuffled against him, craned his neck to see where Gabe pointed. “I don’t see any moving stars.”

“Seriously? It’s that yellow-y one, right there!”

“Wait a second.” Jack paused, and the mystery object blinked on again. “Do you mean that thing?”

“Yeah!”

Jack made a very strange noise, almost like a choke, and when Gabe turned to look at him, he had his mouth covered, not quite hiding his smile.

“That, uh…” he broke off another laugh. “That’s a firefly, Gabe. Look, there’s a few more in the cornfield over there.”

Sure enough, three more little yellow dots zipped about in the nearby field, blinking in and out of visibility.

“Huh,” Gabe muttered.

Jack turned to look at him again, brow furrowed. “Have you really never seen a firefly before?”

“We don’t have them in California, or in most of the west. That’s like if I had made fun of you for never eating at an In-and-Out before!”

“You did do that, though,” Jack said with a smirk.

“Oh, right. Fair enough.”

They both fell silent, basking in the muggy night air. All around them, crickets chirped and cicadas hummed, and a slight breeze drifted through the tall grass, rustling leaves and setting the growing corn swaying gently. Beside him, Jack stretched out, turned onto his side, propped his head up to look over Gabe, eyes half-lidded, expression serene.

“Hey,” Gabe whispered, gazing up at him. “Thank you, for all of this. I’ve had a great time.”

Jack smiled. “I have, too. Sorry we couldn’t go somewhere more exciting, though.”

Gabe let out a soft laugh. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be, Jack.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

They were so close, now, almost nose to nose. It would be so easy to just tilt his head up, steal a kiss. It would also be easy to pass it off as a joke if it was poorly received, but if the way Jack was looking at him was any indication, that wouldn’t be the case. Jack’s gaze dropped down to Gabe’s lips, and he knew Jack was thinking the exact same thing. His heart pounded in his chest as he realized what was about to happen, how everything was about to change; his every nerve buzzed with the anticipation as Jack dipped his head, bumping their noses together in the softest eskimo kiss.

Finally, Gabe closed the gap and their lips met, gently, chastely, before Jack shifted closer and deepened the kiss, sliding a hand through Gabriel’s curls. Gabe brought a hand up to cup Jack’s cheek, guided him down until they were chest to chest. Jack sighed against his lips before diving back down, kissing with everything he had.

Gabe lost himself in the embrace, Jack’s hands on him, sweet caresses, lips meeting again and again, each kiss more enthralling than the last. Breathless laughter when Gabe got a bit too eager, clicking their teeth together. Under the stars, surrounded by fireflies and crickets, everything fading to the back of his mind until all he knew was  _ Jack _ .

“I’m so glad we’re here,” Jack breathed, much later, as they lay snuggled up together, still on that ratty old blanket, watching the stars above. His thumb stroked the skin just over Gabe’s hip, rubbing in little circles, just to touch.

Gabe pressed a kiss to the top of Jack’s head, blond hair tickling his nose. “So am I.” He wrapped his arm tighter around Jack’s shoulders, rested their foreheads together so their eyes could meet. “So are you gonna lay into your family for ignoring your boyfriend, now?”

Jack’s eyes lit up at the title, not bothering to hide his smile. “I just might,” he chuckled. “They’ll be mortified, might even try to drown you in midwest hospitality. Get ready for endless apologies.”

Gabe shook his head, amazed by how little things had really changed. Still trading jokes and flirty banter. The best of friends, but even closer than ever.

And he’d never been happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me, everybody! All that's left now is an epilogue.  
> As always, constructive criticism is welcome.


	7. Epilogue: Bloomington, Indiana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A date in Bloomington.

Just as Jack expected, his parents were absolutely distraught when Jack pointed out the family’s behaviour the night before. They must’ve apologized to Gabriel at least 15 times in two minutes. For his part, Gabe took the apologies graciously, but his eyes went wide when Jack’s father patted him on the back and said “Welcome to the family.”

“Wow, that was awkward,” Gabe muttered once they were alone again.

Jack frowned. “Really? I thought it went well. I’ve never introduced them to a boyfriend before, so I didn’t know how they’d react.”

“Well, I’ve never been introduced to a boyfriend’s parents before, so everything about it was  _ awkward _ . I mean, that’s a pretty big step, right?”

Jack shrugged. “I guess? I think it’s a bit different for us, since we were friends first. I’ve already met your parents, after all.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know you’re my boyfriend, yet,” Gabe pointed out. “It’s different.”

Jack rested a hand on the small of Gabe’s back, rubbing gently. Shortly after befriending Gabe, Jack had realized he was a very tactile person, though perhaps a bit touch-starved. He’d been very distant, at first— from everybody, really— but as he got more comfortable around Jack, he quickly formed a habit of leaning on him whenever they were close enough. Through the roughest rounds of injections, they kept each other from falling apart by clinging to each other, holding tight, reminding themselves that they weren’t alone. Touch seemed to ground Gabriel, to calm him, and Jack was more than happy to supply it for him in abundance.

As expected, Gabe relaxed under his touch, sagging against him as Jack led them back to the truck.

“What’s going on in Bloomington that has you so eager to get up there?” Gabe asked. “I would’ve thought you’d gotten enough of driving over the past few days.”

“There’s a big fireworks show tonight, and I know a great place where we can watch. Maybe we can get dinner while we’re there too?” he offered.

Gabe looped his arm around Jack’s shoulders. “Sounds good.”

As far as cities went, Bloomington wasn’t really that big. Compared to LA, or St. Louis, or, hell, even compared to Indianapolis, it was downright small. But to Jack, it would always be ‘the city’. While primarily a college town, Bloomington had a nice downtown area for shopping, with a ton of great restaurants, so that was where Jack and Gabe headed first. They browsed some of the shops until they got hungry, and then Jack took Gabe to one of his favorite restaurants.

“So, is this our first date?” Gabe wondered aloud after they ordered. He wore a hoodie he’d bought from one of the shops; a cheap, touristy thing: dark gray with ‘BLOOMINGTON EST. 1818’ written in white across the chest. Jack found it ridiculous, and resolved to buy the most touristy tee-shirt he could find once they got back to LA. “Or would that be, I dunno, the first time we ate together back at SEP?”

Jack considered this, brow furrowed as he thought. “That’s a good question. For that matter, when’s our anniversary? Because I feel like we’ve been flirting since we met, and I think we both knew we were into each other, but would yesterday mark the beginning of our relationship?”

Gabe scratched his chin thoughtfully, mussing up his beard. “We might be overthinking this,” he concluded. “I think it would be easiest to just say yesterday was the official start of our relationship, and this is our first official date.”

“Oh, god,” Jack groaned. “That means it has to be super awkward.”

“It does not. Haven’t you ever been on a good first date?”

“No! Have you?”

Gabe pursed his lips. “Actually, no. But to be fair, I haven’t been on very many dates.”

Jack ducked his head, tried to fight back his blush. “Guess we’ll have to change that, huh?”

Gabe buried his face in his hands, but Jack could just see his smile as he peeked through his fingers. “Oh my god. You are so cheesy. Why are you like this?”

“Because it makes you laugh.”

“Oh my god,” Gabriel grumbled into his hands.

After dinner, Jack led Gabriel up to a grassy hill not far outside the city, overlooking a nearby lake. The sun had dipped under the horizon just a few minutes earlier, leaving the area bathed in dying light. A boat floated by very slowly, coming to a stop near the middle of the lake.

Jack pointed at the boat. “That’s where they’ll launch the fireworks from. It shouldn’t be long now.”

Sure enough, the first fireworks launched soon after, just a couple simple ones to start with, filling the sky with little white starbursts. They quickly increased in complexity, fractured flashes of color flying everywhere, reflecting in the water below and leaving echos in their wake.

Gabe rested his head on Jack’s shoulder, eyes on the sky. Jack sighed and leaned in closer, entwining his fingers with Gabriel’s. Gabe smiled and squeezed his hand.

“So, has this been a good first date?” Jack asked softly.

Gabe brought his head up to press a quick kiss to Jack’s lips. “The best. Unfortunately, that means I’ll have to one-up you when we get back to California.”

Jack went in for another kiss. “Y’know, I think I’m okay with that.”

“It also means we have to plan an even better trip next summer for our anniversary.”

“Mm. You mentioned Dorado. Think we can do a road trip around Mexico?” Jack suggested.

Gabe nuzzled into his neck, getting comfortable against his shoulder again. “I think that could be arranged. Provided you can learn Spanish in a year.”

It almost seemed ridiculous, making plans like that when the future before them seemed so uncertain, but Jack got the feeling that, no matter what was in store for them, he and Gabe were a certainty.

Whatever awaited them over the horizon, they could face it side by side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, everybody! Thanks for reading!!  
> I might do a pwp sequel to this... but idk. It probably won't be posted for a while because porn is hard to write, lmao.  
> Anyway, follow me on [tumblr](http://psijay.tumblr.com) for the full sized images from every chapter, or just to keep up, whatever.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is very welcomed; I've been out of the fanfic game a long time, haha! I hope to include at least one sketch per chapter, too, provided I can keep up with it.  
> I have Jack's hometown as Medora, IN, since he describes his home as rural, and Bloomington is not rural. Medora is a small farm town outside of Bloomington, and Jack probably just tells everyone he's from Bloomington so they actually know where he's talking about.  
> If you're curious, I actually have a map of the route they're taking: https://goo.gl/maps/PgtsVihb3a82  
> Pretty sure you've hit rock bottom when you've planned a road trip for two fictional characters.


End file.
